Police arrest fugitive wife-killer Robert Gaudette in Quebec City five days after he escaped prison

Robert Gaudette was arrested Sunday night in Quebec City after he escaped from a federal institution in Laval last week.

Quebec City police intercepted Gaudette on a sidewalk downtown, and he did not resist arrest.

Gaudette, a 55-year-old man who has been serving a life sentence for the second-degree murder of his wife, will be arraigned at the Quebec City courthouse on Monday for his escape from prison.

Gaudette escaped from the minimum-security Federal Training Centre on Montée St-François St. in eastern Laval during the night on July 29. It is believed he escaped by climbing out through a window. Gaudette was reported missing after he was absent during a head count of inmates by staff.

Last Thursday, Claude Hamelin, a 59-year-old man from Rigaud who has a criminal record and helped Gaudette after his escape, was arrested by police. On Friday, he was arraigned at the Valleyfield courthouse on the charge of conspiracy after the fact. Hamelin also served time at the same penitentiary as Gaudette.

Gaudette automatically received a life sentence after he was charged with second-degree murder in 2002. On April 27, 2000, he killed his wife Cindy Bouchard by strangling her during an argument.

Gaudette initially told Montreal police that Bouchard was kidnapped by a gang because of his gambling debts. He later told detectives that former employers kidnapped her to retrieve incriminating documents from her. Gaudette eventually confessed to murdering his wife and police found Bouchard’s body in a garbage bin in an industrial parking lot in Anjou.

The Parole Board of Canada granted Gaudette unescorted leaves in November 2013 and extended the privilege on June 6. Unescorted leaves allowed Gaudette to visit family for a period of 72 hours. This is the last step before an inmate is granted parole. Gaudette was only eligible for parole if he served 12 years of his sentence